Category Archives: Waiver Wire

For this week I’m going to go over the players who I’ve already talked about, because at this point in the year the must grab FA’s are gone, but there are still plenty of players available in a good amount of leagues who can be contributors.

Adds

Brian Hoyer- He’s finished as a top 10 QB three weeks in a row now while filling in for Jay Cutler. If he’s still got the job Sunday against the Jaguars Hoyer will make it 4 consecutive weeks.

Marcus Mariota- He led all players in scoring in week 5 and has Cleveland, Indy, Jacksonville and San Diego as his next 4. You could do a lot worse than that. Mariota isn’t a consistent fantasy QB yet but again demonstrated his high ceiling in the Titans win against the Dolphins.

Sammie Coates- Someone has to be the #2 WR on the Steelers right? Coates exploded with 6 catches on 11 targets for 139 yards and two TD’s against the Jets. If he can maintain that level of involvement going forward Coates will be a strong play moving forward.

Quincy Enunwa- I’ve mentioned him before as a potential add but with Eric Decker going on IR he deserves another mention.

Caleb Sturgis- It’s week 6 and it’s time to let loose your crappy kicker if you ended up with one. Sturgis is the 6th best kicker in fantasy football right now, and is available in over 75% of leagues. He’s made at least two field goals and two extra points in every game so far this year.

Davante Adams- He’s scored in three out of his first four games and I don’t think it’s a fluke. He’s a good bet to find the end zone for the Packers but won’t be more than a WR3/Flex unless he can get more volume.

Chris Hogan- He’s been fantasy irrelevant since having a good debut game against the Cardinals, but Brady’s back now and a lot of the players on the Patriots are suddenly worth owning. Hogan went over 100 yards against the Browns and is worth an add.

James White- Just like with Hogan, the presence of Tom Brady makes the value of the players around him go up. White is the receiving back in this offense for right now with Dion Lewis on the PUP list. White had 9 touches for 89 yards Sunday and is a solid flex and better in PPR.

Jesse James- I think this is legit. James has found the end zone in three of his first five games this year. On this Pittsburgh offense I think James is a solid flier for a TD, and at TE right now that’s all you can really ask for.

Bills D/ST- Since getting blown away by the Jets in week 2 the Bills defense has shaped up. In the past three weeks they are averaging four sacks a game, haven’t allowed an opponent to score 20 points and have caused 8 turnovers, leading to two defensive TD’s. They’re next to opponents are the 49ers and Dolphins, who are both plus match-ups for opposing defenses. The time to grab them may have already passed for most, but they are still out there in some leagues and should be a good defense until week 8 when they face New England again.

On The Radar

Cameron Meredith- He had a big game against the Colts, grabbing 9 passes on 12 targets for 130 yards and a TD, but also lost a key fumble. With Alshon Jeffery struggling I would keep an eye on Meredith if Hoyer remains the QB.

Jalen Richard- He tied DeAndre Washington for the most RB carries with 14 while Oakland looked to their young RB’s to fill in for Latavius Murray. He out gained Washington 97 yards to 52 on his touches. I continue to think Richard is the better RB of the two and if Murray misses significant time is the handcuff/RB you want to own in the situation.

Bobby Rainey- A deep PPR league RB. Rainey is filling in for Shane Vereen as the pass catching RB on the Giants. In his last two games he has 13 catches on 15 targets for 95 yards and 9 carries for 44 yards.

Titans D/ST- As mentioned above when referring to Mariota, the Titans next four opponents are the Browns, Colts, Jaguars and Chargers. The Browns and Colts are the among the top 10 in conceding points to opposing fantasy defenses and the Jaguars have been traditionally bad at that. The Chargers may have given up on the season at that point if their bad luck continues. The time to stream them would be now.

Hunter Henry- If you were hesitant about him after just one week(rightfully so) he gave you more to trust with another good performance against the Saints. He caught 4 of his 7 targets for 61 yards and a TD and now has over 130 yards receiving in his last two games.

Michael Thomas- He’s stepped it up in Willie Snead’s absence over the last two games. In that span he has had 11 catches on 20 targets for 115 yards and two TD’s(one in each week).

Terrance West- He proved himself to be “the guy” against the Raiders. West had 21 carries for 113 yards and a TD but more importantly other RB’s only got 3 carries this game. If West is going to be the lead back in this way for the Ravens going forward he needs to be owned in all leagues.

Terrelle Pryor Sr- Another game another TD. Pryor continues to establish himself as the go to receiving option for the Browns, leading them in targets again this week. With news that Josh Gordon is a no go for this year Pryor’s role is more secure going forward.

Duke Johnson Jr.- Hue Jackson is going to use both Duke and Isaiah Crowell plenty this year. The same way he used Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard in across the state with the Bengals. Like Bernard, Johnson has more value in PPR leagues as he is the clear receiving back in the offense. However he’ll have flex value in standard leagues from time to time as well like he did against the Redskins, where he picked up 84 total yards on 15 touches. More notably, he had only 3 less touches than Crowell.

Eagles D/ST- In case you forgot how well they played in the first 3 weeks. A lot of people left them on the wire during their bye week.

Robert Woods- The Bills will remain a run first team, but Woods is now the #1 receiver on the team with Sammy Watkins out(again) with injury. He led the team with 10 targets and hauled in 7 of them for 89 yards against the Patriots.

Bilal Powell- Matt Forte owners had to know this would be coming at some point. Powell was a reliable receiving back for the Jets last year, which is why they re-signed him in the offseason. I was dubious that Forte would be the “workhorse” back he had been in Chicago with Powell hanging around and this game started to show that. Powell had 10 touches for 80 yards compared to Forte’s 16 touches for 43 yards. Powell was second on the team with 9 targets as well. He’s more of a PPR player but he needs to be on the radar, and is at least the handcuff for Matt Forte.

Jordan Howard- 26 touches and 132 yards later and you see why he was last week’s #1 pick-up.

Anquan Boldin- More for deeper leagues and PPR leagues. Boldin is the #2 receiving option for the Lions right now and Stafford trusts him on 3rd down. He led the Lions with 8 targets and 6 catches against the Bears. He scored in his previous two games and is on pace for 68 catches and 8 TD’s for the season using his 4 game totals.

Must Add

Terrelle Pryor- I talked about him as a deeper league add before, but now he’s and add across the board. He did a little bit of everything Sunday, throwing for 35 yards, rushing four times for 21 yards and a TD and led the team in all receiving categories with 8 catches for 144 yards on 14 targets. With Corey Coleman out he is the only viable receiver on the roster right now, and if he stays involved in the offense in other ways he’ll be an even greater value going forward.

DeVante Parker- He has had 20 targets, 11 catches, 157 yards and a TD in each of his last two games. He’s the #2 option in the passing game behind Jarvis Landry and is a good flex option going forward.

Jordan Howard- He seemingly replaced Jeremy Langford as the Bears starting RB against the Cowboys. Langford started the game but then didn’t get any usage after the 1st quarter or so with Howard coming in. Howard had 9 carries for 45 yards and 4 catches for 47 yards on 6 targets. Compare that to Langford having 3 carries for 31 yards and 2 catches for 15 yards on 3 targets.

Cameron Brate- The Buccaneers cut Austin Seferian-Jenkins earlier in the week and Brate took advantage as the starter right away. He had 5 catches for 46 yards and two TD’s on 10 targets against the Rams and is a must own tight end going forward now that he is the lone Bucs tight end.

Orleans Darkwa- 11 touches for 62 yards and a rushing TD against the Redskins, and one Shane Vereen injury later, Darkwa finds himself the only healthy RB on the Giants. Rashad Jennings missed last week with an injury and Vereen was placed on IR earlier this week. I wouldn’t play him this week against the Vikings, but if Jennings is still hurt he will have a role in the offense.

Eagles D/ST- They’re worth stashing during the bye week. I think this a legit top 10 defense the rest of the season. They are the #2 fantasy defense through 3 weeks and have conceded 27 points in three games this season.

On the Fantasy Radar

Hunter Henry- He is the heir apparent to Antonio Gates, and his time may be coming sooner rather than later. Gates didn’t play Sunday and Henry stepped right in by catching all 5 of his targets for 76 yards. He’s a player to keep an eye on with TE being such a crapshoot this year.

Trevor Siemian- He just lit up the Bengals for 312 yards and 4 TD’s in his first ever road start and led the week at QB. For what it’s worth his next three opponents are Tampa Bay, Atlanta and San Diego, who don’t scare me at all.

Carson Wentz- I don’t know how much I buy it, but it’s working. Wentz QB10 through 3 weeks should be considered as a pick-up after the Eagles bye week.

Dak Presscott- Two rushing TD’s through 3 games, and he finall threw a passing TD as well. He’s QB11 through three weeks and is worth a go against a 49ers defense that just got beat by a limping Russell Wilson and Trevone Boykin

Eagles RB’s- Kenjon Barner, Darren Sproles and Wendell Smallwood all scored against the Steelers in the blowout win last Sunday after Ryan Matthews went down with an ankle injury. The only one I would be interested in right now would be Sproles, and mostly in PPR leagues. Sproles was the only one of the three with a catch and has a more defined role as a hybrid back in the Eagles offense. I’d need to see more from the other two before considering adding them.

Adam Humpries- Like I said last time, he is the #2 receiver on the Buccaneers. He had 9 catches for 100 yards on 12 targets against the Rams and more importantly, had only one less target than Mike Evans.

Jameis Winston- After an atrocity against Arizona Winston was back to being a very good high volume QB against the Rams. He attempted a week leading 58 passes for 405 yards, 3 TD’s and one interception. He has Denver this week, but is a solid QB2 going forward.

Jamison Crowder- He’ a legit WR3 in PPR. He leads the Skins in catches, is tied for the team lead in targets(24 through 3 games), and showed off the wheels on a 55 yard TD from a screen pass against the Giants.

Must Add

QB

Matthew Stafford- Maybe it’s the Colts shoddy defense, or maybe Stafford is going to be a top 10 QB again. He had a great second half last year and squeaked into the top 10 fantasy QB’s and started 2016 off the same way. He was the 4th best QB in week 1 and the 6th best player overall. He may not be universally owned but needs to be.

Matt Ryan- If you need immediate help for the position I would give Ryan a shot. His next two opponents are the Raiders and Saints, who just finished a 35-34 shootout this week, giving up 423 yards and 4 TD’s to Drew Brees and 319 yards and a TD to Derek Carr. He may not be a good long term option because of his consistency problems but I would imagine he is a top half QB at the least the next two weeks.

RB

Spencer Ware- He is Jamaal Charles. Ware did everything for the Chiefs at RB against the Chargers. He had 18 touches(11 carries, 7 catches on 8 targets) for 199 total yards and a TD. Charcandrick West had 9 touches( 3 carries, 6 catches on 6 targets) and was clearly the change of pace to Ware. As long as Charles is out Ware is a must start and a must own.

Theo Riddick- He’s finally usable in standard! Those who play PPR are probably familiar with Theo Riddick but not everyone may be. He’s the primary receiving back for the Lions. He scored a TD on the ground and in the air in week 1 and Ameer Abdullah only had 5 more touches than him(all carries) which is encouraging. Riddick has been a reliable receiver for a while now but if he can get more volume(especially in the running game) he could be a very good fantasy option going forward.

WR

Willie Snead- Snead exploded to start the year against the Raiders with 9 catches on 9 targets for 172 yards and a TD. Snead was used heavily in the game and had just as many targets as Brandin Cooks(who also had a huge game). Snead is available in a few leagues, but as a starter on the Saints offense needs to be rostered in all leagues.

Mohammad Sanu- Just like Ryan above Sanu has a potential to be a good part of your line-up now. Sanu equaled Julio Jones with 8 targets and caught 5 of them for eighty yards and a TD. He got hurt at the end of the game but if he is a full go he could be a strong flex against the Saints and Raiders.

Mike Wallace- He’s going to be the deep threat of this offense, and try to fill the gap left by Torrey Smith a few years ago. Wallace caught a 66 yard TD which, which was the bulk of his day, but those long TD’s are enough for fantasy football. He ended up with 4 touches for 102 yards on the day(1 carry for 11 yards and 2 other catches for 25 yards). Steve Smith and Kamar Aiken are more possession receivers and Perriman is still just starting to play, Wallace could be the best Ravens receiver this year.

Will Fuller/Tajae Sharpe- Both rookies established themselves as starters in the NFL with good week 1 performances. Fuller had the bigger day, getting targeted more than DeAndre Hopkins and ending with five catches on eleven targets for 101 yards and a long TD. I’m curious to see if Fuller, and the Texans offense in general, can continue their quality play against better teams than the Bears but he’s worth an add. Sharpe didn’t score but established himself as the #1 receiving option on the Titans, for what that’s worth. Sharpe had a team leading 7 catches on 11 targets for 76 yards against a good Vikings defense in his debut. Sharpe and the Titans will only play two teams(the Texans and Packers) that finished above .500 last year through the remainder of the fantasy football regular season, and they could find success against some of those bad defenses.

Travis Benjamin- With Keenan Allen tearing his ACL in the opener, Benjamin is now the de facto #1 WR in San Diego, which is always worth an add.

TE

Eric Ebron- He caught all 5 of his targets for 46 yards and a score on Sunday, and looks to be a consistent part of the Lions offense this year. Tight end feels really thin this year and Ebron could sneak his way to a top 12 year if he can stay involved in the offense like this.

Dwayne Allen/Jack Doyle- They both lead the position in scoring after Sunday with a combined 3 TD’s, 10 targets, 7 catches and 88 yards between them. If you remember when Allen and Coby Fleener did this dance then you’ll remember they were both usable for fantasy during that stretch. I lean towards Allen, who did have more targets, catches and yards, but if Doyle keeps his nose for the end-zone he can be a solid option at tight end.

Special Teams

Vikings D/ST- They scored two touchdowns and single-handedly won the game for the Vikings. They’ll have to play this good this year to support whatever play they are getting at QB this year from Shaun Hill/Sam Bradford.

Blair Walsh- He wasn’t particularly accuarte(he missed two field goals and an extra point) but with this offense figuring itself out with Shaun Hill at QB, he got the volume to have a good day, and I think the volume will persist. Adrian Peterson had a really bad game, I expect him to play better and score TD’s, but the Vikings will be kicking a lot of field goals this year on stalled drives in opposing territory.

On the Fantasy Radar

QB

Jameis Winston- He threw for 4 TD’s against the Falcons in his debut and is a good pick-up for a QB needy team. Winston was the most consistent player in fantasy last year, going over 20 points just once but never going below 10 fantasy points. If he continues to progress he could finish as a top 12 QB.

Alex Smith- He’s been a high floor, very low ceiling QB in fantasy during his time with the Chiefs, but had a big fantasy day during the Chiefs historic comeback against the Chargers. I’m skeptical he keeps it up, mostly because Smith threw the most passes of any QB in week 1 and he is usually not a big volume QB. He’s a good deep league add, and he’s worth keeping an eye on to see if he can be more than that this year.

Carson Wentz- He looked sharp against the Browns, throwing for 278 yards and two scores with no turnovers. However, it’s the Browns and we need to see more before he can be trusted. Monday night’s game against the Bears will be a better test.

RB

Jalen Richard- He exploded for a 75 TD run on his first carry of the game and ended up with 4 more touches(two carries and two catches) for 20 more yards. He could figure to remain a part of the running game with Latavius Murray and DeAndre Washington.

WR

Nelson Agholor- For whatever it’s worth, he’s the #2 WR on the Eagles. He had 4 catches for 57 yards and a TD on 5 targets against the Browns, and only Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz received more targets than Agholor. Like Wentz, I want to see what the Eagles do against a team that isn’t the Browns though.

Eli Rogers- He stepped into the #2 receiver role for the Steelers Monday night with 6 catches for 59 yards and a TD on 7 targets. Between Rogers, Sammie Coates and Markus Wheaton I’m not sure who will be the 3rd receiving option in the offense behind Antonio Brown and DeAngelo Williams/Le’Veon Bell but Rogers got the jump on it with a good first game.

Jermaine Kearse- He’s been a solid deep league play for a while now but it bears repeating, he is the #2 receiver in Seattle, despite all the Tyler Lockette hype. Kearse had five catches for 57 yards on 7 targets compared to Lockette catching 3 of his 8 targets for 17 yards.

Quincy Enunwa- He emerged as the 3rd receiver on the Jets, which is something they didn’t have last year. He tied Brandon Marshall with a team leading 8 targets and caught seven of them for 54 yards and a TD. Marshall and Eric Decker(along with Matt Forte) will still get their share of the receiving work, but a good starting performance could be a sign of fantasy relevance for Enunwa.

Tyrell Williams- With Keenan Allen out and Travis Benjamin assuming the #1 WR role someone else has to step up to fill the #2 slot, and that might be Williams. He was targeted 5 times and caught two passes for 71 yards against the Chiefs. He might be worth a deep league add and is on the radar now.

Davante Adams- He caught three passes for 50 yards and a TD against the Jaguars, and I’m intrigued. With Jordy Nelson out of the line-up the expectation was that Randall Cobb and Adams would step in seamlessly and take over those roles, that didn’t happen. Now with Nelson back however, Cobb and Adams are going to get better match-ups and can capitalize against them. I would keep my eye on it.

Jeremy Kerley- He led the 49ers in targets(11), receptions(7) and receiving yards(61) in their first game against the Rams. If he is the #1 option on the 49ers he will have some fantasy value, it’s still hard to tell however with Torrey Smith and Quinton Patton also being involved.

TE

Jesse James- James was one of only 5 Steelers who were targeted against the Redskins, and was the only TE on the roster who was thrown to. He caught 5 of his 7 targets for 31 yards, but should be the starting TE on a good offense going forward.

Kyle Rudolph- TE looked really ugly in week 1, with only four players scoring 10+ points in standard scoring. For what it’s worth Rudolph was tied for 4th among TE’s in targets in week 1 with 8, and caught four of those targets for 65 yards against the Titans. Shaun Hill targeted Rudolph only one less time than his leading target Stefon Diggs. Rudolph has been a TD dependent fantasy player in years past, but if he can start putting together some more consistency then he could be a solid option at TE.

After being swamped with the day job last week I wasn’t able to write a waiver wire pick-up article. This week I am going to write a waiver wire article, but a little differently than normal. I’m going to discuss players that are worth playing in this final season that aren’t owned in a lot of leagues(since if you aren’t playing them it’s not worth picking them up).

RB

Matt Asiata- He has been getting a heavy workload the last 4 weeks with at least 18+ touches during that span and gets the putrid Bears defense this week, a must start for opposing running backs.

Doug Martin- He has been putrid all year and he meets the equally putrid Saints rush defense. They have given up 786 total yards and 4 TD’s to opposing running backs the last 4 weeks and Martin could conceivably not suck against them.

Bishop Sankey- He had his best game of the season against the Colts with 57 total yards and a TD. He had 15 touches last week and if he gets that workload again he could be productive with it against the Colts. That says a lot about where you are if you are starting Bishop Sankey or considering him, but you could do worse.

Branden Oliver-We’ll see if Ryan Matthews plays, but if he doesn’t Oliver could be another desperation RB2. He was solid last week with 81 total yards on 16 touches against the 49ers and while Kansas City has stopped the bleeding in their run defense the last two games(141 yards and one rushing TD in the last two games) they had given up a stretch of 6 straight games with 100+ rushing yards to opposing backs.

QB

Cam Newton- He is likely going to be a top 5 QB for me this week, and he hasn’t been reclaimed in every league since his car accident, so grab him if you can.

Ryan Tannehill- If you want to play the guy who scored the most points last week, this is your guy. He gets the Jets this week and struggled against them last time out but if he can maintain a little of the success he had against the Vikings he would be a good play.

Eli Manning- Eli hasn’t played great but he gets to throw to Odell Beckham Jr.(who is amazing) and he gets an Eagles defense that has given up no TD’s to opposing QB’s or multiple TD’s to opposing QB’s this year(no 1 TD games and three 0 TD games). I could definitely see Eli going either way but I think it’s more likely he plays well.

Teddy Bridgewater- The Bears defense is terrible part 2. They may have held Bridgewater in check last time they played him but I think he goes off in this game, if nothing else he is a low risk limited upside QB option.

Jay Cutler- With Jimmy Clausen concussed it looks like Cutler will play the final game of the season. He is high risk high reward but after seeing Ryan Tannehill torch the Vikings you would think he has a good shot at it as well.

WR

Marques Colston- He has been very steady since week 12 with 70 yards or a TD in every game during that stretch. He plays the Buccaneers who are just as done with this season as the Saints are after clinching the #1 overall draft pick.

Greg Jennings/Charles Johnson- The Bears defense sucks part 3.

Eddie Royal- I was wrong about him last week as he had 90ish yards and a TD. He gets the Chiefs this week and both him and Malcolm Floyd could be startable if you are desperate.

Marquess Wilson- He has been usable(as a flex) since being thrust into the starting role and gets a solid match-up against the Vikings this week, you could do worse and he is available just about everywhere.

D/ST

49ers D/ST- Ryan Lindley you say?

Texans D/ST- Starting a defense against the Jaguars is always a good idea

The “Duh” Pick-Ups

Jay Cutler/Cam Newton- They have been up and down all year but they exploded for huge games this week(Cam leading the week at QB and Cutler was a top 5 play this week) and their remaining schedules don’t scare me. Cutler has a great match-up with the Saints this upcoming week and then has Detroit and Minnesota to finish the season. Newton has Tampa Bay next, followed by Cleveland and Atlanta(extra un-scary). They aren’t going to be widely available but I know plenty of owners were tired of these guys and have dropped them in standard leagues.

Jonathan Stewart- If DeAngelo Williams misses more time Stewart is a must add, must play the rest of the way.

Charles Johnson- I wrote about him before and he cooled off against Carolina but he was back in full force this week with 4 catches for 104 yards and a TD(and nearly a second TD if he hadn’t fumbled) on 8 targets. He gets Detroit, Miami and Chicago to close the season but he looks to me to be the best non-obvious receiver add out there now.

Latavius Murray- Had a solid game against the 49ers(85 yards on 25 touches) and gets two good match-ups against Kansas City(who he torched two weeks ago) and Buffalo(who just gave up 3 rushing TD’s to CJ Anderson) and then closes out in Denver in what might be a meaningless game. If he continues to receive the heavy workload he might be the RB2 you’ve been looking for in the playoffs.

The Other Pick-Ups

Joe Flacco/Andy Dalton – Not as illustrious as Newton and Cutler, Dalton and Flacco are the other solid QB options available. Dalton has been for the most part, a fantasy nightmare. If you trust him enough(or have figured out his irregular pattern of good games/vs bad games) then he’s worth a shot with a fantasy favorable schedule of Cleveland, Denver and Pittsburgh again. Flacco has been aided in the last two weeks by scoring a rushing TD(unlikely to continue) but has been solid nevertheless. Flacco’s remaining schedule is Jacksonville, Houston and Cleveland.

Kerwynn Williams- He ran for 100 yards against Kansas City and if you are desperate you can roll the dice, but with a game apiece against the NFC West to close the division, you might not want to get close to this Cardinal, or any Cardinals for that matter.

Pierre Garcon/Eric Decker- If DeSean Jackson/Percy Harvin end up missing time these guys become the #1 receiving option on the team and both were solid with that duty last week.

Patriots D/ST- They get to finish the season against their division, none of whom have consistent offenses. If you missed the obvious defenses to add and aren’t playing the match-ups rolling with the Pats wouldn’t be a bad option.

Kamar Aiken/Jaron Brown- Mostly for deep leagues, but if Torrey Smith misses more time Aiken could continue to be solid. He has 9 catches on 11 targets for 116 yards and a TD in his last two games and gets Jacksonville this week. Similar to Aiken, The other J.Brown on the Cardinals has been usable the last two games(not that anyone has used him) and seems to have something with Drew Stanton at QB. He has 9 catches on 12 targets for 123 yards and a TD in his last two games.